The Oneiric Scroll 821 – GearAscendancy.com

Lore: This item is a paradox, born from two conflicting philosophies. It is said that Alaric the Dreamweaver, the first to weave tapestries of dreams, despaired when a rival, Thaloryn, crafted the Quill of Forgetting. Alaric saw dreams as a path to truth, while Thaloryn saw memory as a prison to be escaped. In a clandestine, fog-shrouded meeting, the two enchanters met, not as rivals, but as collaborators, to create a single tool that could do what neither of theirs could alone: edit the subconscious. They merged the feather of the Amnesial Bird with a “page” woven from the astral threads of the Dreamweaver Tapestry, creating a kit for the ultimate spy, healer, or manipulator.

Description: This item is a single, unified tool kit. It consists of a sleek, polished ebony quill fitted with a single, large, silvery-grey feather that seems to absorb light and sound. Accompanying it is a small, rolled-up “tapestry” that functions as a scroll. This 12-inch-square of fine, indigo-colored fabric is woven from threads that shimmer like captured moonlight. Its surface is blank, but when the quill touches it, the writing appears in faint, glowing, silvery lines before fading as the magic takes effect. The entire kit is stored in a simple, unadorned wooden tube.

Stats:

Tier: 2
Requirements: Wisdom 14, Proficiency in Arcana or Insight

Tags:

Tier 2, Tool, Enchanted, Divination, Manipulation, Memory Alteration, Dream Magic, Subconscious Interface, Oneiromancy Tool, Mythical Origin, Secretive Tool, Forbidden Magic, Astral Weaving, Deceptive Power, Psychic Tool, Tier 2, Spy Tool, Wondrous, Rare, Forbidden, Subconscious, Ritual

Multiple Passives Magic

Insightful Dreams: If the user sleeps with the kit within 10 feet, they gain advantage on Wisdom checks related to interpreting their own dreams.
Silent Scribe: The quill’s feather is magically silenced. Writing with it, even on normal parchment, makes no sound.
Deceptive Nature: The user gains a +1 bonus to Deception and Sleight of Hand checks related to writing, forgery, or concealing the kit.

Multiple Active Magics

Send Dream (1/week): The user can spend 1 minute writing a message or scene onto the tapestry-scroll with the quill. They may then cast the Dream spell (save DC 14) on a target they know. The content of the writing becomes the content of the dream. The writing fades from the scroll once the dream is sent.
Erase Memory (1/day): The user can spend 10 minutes writing a detailed account of a single, specific memory they possess. Upon finishing the last word, the writing on the scroll vanishes, and that specific memory is temporarily erased from the user’s mind. The memory returns randomly, but not before the next session (in world, sometime in the next day to month, GM’s discretion).
Edit Subconscious (1/session): This 10-minute ritual allows the user to target a sleeping creature within 100 feet. The user writes a single, simple command or idea (e.g., “Forget the face of the man in the red cloak,” “Trust Sister Kaelen,” “The king is a fraud”). The target must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, this thought is implanted in their subconscious, which they will perceive as a strong, lingering “gut feeling” or a hazy, forgotten “dream” upon waking. The writing on the scroll then fades.

Specific Slot:

Tool (pen, scroll and tube)

Item Magic Hit Points

If The Oneiric Scroll (821) is specifically targeted, its magical integrity (rather than its physical durability) must be overcome. The item, as a whole kit, has 40 Hit Points.

Attacks must be declared against the item itself (e.g., snatching it and attempting to destroy it). The kit is treated as a single object for this purpose; damaging either the quill or the scroll-tapestry damages the item’s total magical HP.

When the item’s HP is reduced to 0, its magic is disabled. The silver-grey feather on the quill turns a dull, mundane brown. The indigo scroll-tapestry’s threads lose their shimmer, becoming a simple, blank piece of dark cloth. The kit’s passive, active, and stat-boosting properties are all lost, rendering it completely mundane and useless.

Item Repair

Repairing the disabled magic of The Oneiric Scroll is a difficult Tier 2 ritual. It cannot be fixed by simple mending. The item must be brought to an artisan with skills in both oneiromancy (dream magic) and enchantment.

The repair process requires an Enchanter’s Table and the following:

Rare Components: The artisan must acquire new materials to re-link the quill and scroll to the dream and memory realms. This typically requires 1 Vial of Astral-Infused Ink (to re-sanctify the quill) and 3 strands of Astral Silk (to re-weave the magic into the scroll-tapestry).
A Skill Challenge: The artisan must spend one hour under the light of a full moon, performing a ritual to re-bind the two conflicting magics (dream and oblivion). This requires a high-difficulty Arcana or Magic Infusion skill check.
Cost: This process is expensive, costing approximately 150-200 Gold Pieces for the components and the artisan’s time, as Astral Silk is notoriously difficult to procure.

If the ritual succeeds, the item’s magic is restored, and its magical HP returns to 40. If the ritual fails, the components are consumed, and the item remains mundane, though another attempt may be made with new components.

Shops where the Oneiric Scroll (821) might be bought and sold, along with its potential cost.

Where to Buy and Sell The Oneiric Scroll (821)

This item is a highly illegal, paradoxical, and powerful Tier 2 tool. Its value is derived not from its combat applications, but from its unparalleled utility in espionage, political manipulation, and high-stakes information brokering. It would be sold only in the most exclusive and dangerous markets, where its value would far exceed its crafting cost.

1. The Void Archive (Occult Society)

This is the secretive society of scholars who allegedly created the original Quill. They would view this merged item as a dangerous and coveted evolution of their work.

How it is Handled: They do not “sell” items like this for coin, as they seek to control such artifacts. To “buy” it from them, a character would have to trade something of truly unique and equivalent value—such as a different Tier 2+ artifact, a map to a forgotten library, or by undertaking a perilous quest on the Archive’s behalf. To “sell” it to them, they would likely offer a fraction of its street value in gold, preferring to offer access to their restricted libraries or a powerful magical service in exchange.
Estimated Cost (Buy): A trade of an item or service worth at least 250 Platinum (2,500 Gold).
Estimated Cost (Sell): 100 Platinum (1,000 Gold) plus access to restricted information.

2. Clandestine Auction Houses

In major metropolises, secret auctions are held for spymasters, guild leaders, and nobles. The Oneiric Scroll would be a centerpiece item, presented as “Lot 821, the ultimate tool of the subconscious auditor.”

How it is Handled: Access is by invitation only. The item’s functions (Erase Memory, Send Dream, Edit Subconscious) would be described in lavish, coded language. Bidding would be fierce, private, and conducted with magical tokens or silent hand-gestures.
Estimated Cost (Buy): Bidding would start at 200 Platinum (2,000 Gold) and would likely sell for 300-350 Platinum (3,000-3,500 Gold) or more.
Estimated Cost (Sell): An auction house would take a 20-30% commission on the final sale price.

3. The Shadow Broker Network

This is not a physical shop but a loose confederation of information brokers (like “Fingers”), illicit guild quartermasters, and spymasters operating in the “unsafe” or “deathly” areas of a city.

How it is Handled: A buyer must put out a whisper with a trusted contact, seeking a “dream-quill” or “subconscious editor.” The broker would then arrange a high-risk, clandestine meeting. The price is non-negotiable and payment (in platinum or rhodium) is demanded upfront. There is a very high chance of being ambushed, sold a fake, or both. This is the most dangerous, but fastest, way to acquire the item.
Estimated Cost (Buy): 400 Platinum (4,000 Gold). This price is massively inflated due to the risk the broker is taking.
Estimated Cost (Sell): A broker would offer a “buyer” (likely a PC) a “trash” price, knowing the item is too hot to sell easily. They would likely offer only 75-100 Platinum (750-1,000 Gold), planning to sell it for 400.

Roleplay explanation of how The Oneiric Scroll (821) is used for offense and defense in different environments.

This item is a tool of psychological warfare and information control. Its “offense” is subversive, planting ideas that unravel an enemy from within. Its “defense” is absolute, allowing the user to become a perfect vault by hiding secrets even from themselves.

1. Environment: The Noble’s Court or a Political Gala

This is a high-intrigue environment where information is more valuable than gold, and a public accusation (even a false one) can be a killing blow.

Offensive Roleplay: “Sowing Discord”

Action: The wielder needs to break the alliance between a rival noble and his trusted, highly competent advisor. Direct attacks are impossible.
Roleplay:
1. Intel: The wielder first identifies the advisor’s sleeping chambers and schedule.
2. Ritual: During a long rest, the wielder unrolls the 12-inch indigo scroll. In the dark, they use the ebony quill, which writes in silent, silvery lines. They perform the 10-minute Edit Subconscious ritual.
3. The Edit: They write: “Lord Valerius sees you as a pawn. He is lying to you about the trade deal.”
4. The Aftermath: The advisor (who fails their DC 14 save) wakes up with a terrible “gut feeling.” They feel a powerful, nagging sense of distrust. The wielder, at court the next day, watches from across the room. They don’t do anything; they just observe as the advisor, now paranoid and suspicious, begins to second-guess their master, question his orders, and ultimately fracture the alliance. The wielder has committed a political assassination without saying a word.

Defensive Roleplay: “The Perfect Secret-Keeper”

Action: The wielder is a spy who has just been captured. They are being taken to an interrogation room where a powerful telepath or truth-seer is waiting.
Roleplay:
1. Concealment: The guards search the wielder but fail to find the kit, which was hidden with the Deceptive Nature bonus.
2. Ritual: Alone in their cell for 10 minutes, the wielder performs the Erase Memory ritual.
3. The Edit: They pull out the quill and scroll and meticulously write down everything: their contacts, the location of the documents, the name of their spymaster. The silvery script fills the indigo fabric.
4. The Aftermath: As they write the final word, the script vanishes. The memory is gone. The wielder’s face goes placid. When the telepath arrives and probes their mind, there is nothing to find. The wielder genuinely, truly, has no idea what the telepath is talking about. They are the perfect, un-breakable vault. The roleplay challenge, of course, is surviving until the next session when the memory inconveniently returns.

2. Environment: The Urban Underworld (Thieves’ Guild / Spy Network)

This is a clandestine world of back-alley deals, paranoia, and infiltration.

Offensive Roleplay: “Psychological Warfare”

Action: The wielder needs to extract a piece of information from a rival guild leader who is too well-guarded to approach.
Roleplay:
1. Ritual: This is a long-term operation. The wielder uses their rare (1/week) Send Dream ability.
2. The Edit: They write a nightmarish scenario on the scroll: “You see your own guards taking your money. You see your lieutenant laughing as he hands your ledger to the City Watch. You are betrayed. You are alone.”
3. The Aftermath: The guild leader is plagued by this vivid, magical nightmare. They wake up paranoid and shaken. The next night, the wielder follows up with the Edit Subconscious ritual, implanting the simple feeling: “My second-in-command is a rat.” The wielder uses the kit to psychologically dismantle the guild leader’s paranoia, turning it against his own organization until it implodes.

Defensive Roleplay: “The Amnesiac Drop”

Action: The wielder must transport a vital, secret message (e.g., “Attack at dawn”) across a city full of checkpoints and enemy telepaths.
Roleplay:
1. The Plan: The wielder’s ally memorizes the message. The wielder does not. The wielder then meets an allied contact but doesn’t know why.
2. The “Defense”: The wielder uses Erase Memory on themselves to erase the knowledge of who they are meeting and where.
3. The Aftermath: The wielder walks through the city, and even if captured and magically interrogated, they are a “blank.” They have no secret mission in their mind. They are just a person “going for a walk.” They rely entirely on their ally (who has the real info) and their contact (who knows to find them). They have made themselves a decoy by becoming truly innocent.

3. Environment: The Remote Dungeon or Enemy Lair

Here, the kit is used for long-range communication and weakening a powerful, isolated foe.

Offensive Roleplay: “Tormenting the Beast”

Action: The party is infiltrating the lair of a powerful creature (a young dragon, a hag, a lich) who is currently asleep. They cannot risk a direct fight.
Roleplay:
1. Intel: The party’s rogue scouts ahead and finds the target sleeping. The wielder stays 90 feet back with the rest of the party.
2. Ritual: The wielder takes out the kit and performs the Edit Subconscious ritual.
3. The Edit: They write a simple, gnawing thought: “Your treasure is not safe.” or “A rival is coming to steal your power.”
4. The Aftermath: The creature (failing its save) wakes up agitated and paranoid. It begins moving its hoard, re-checking its wards, and acting erratically, creating a major distraction that allows the party to bypass it and achieve their true objective.

Defensive Roleplay: “The Subconscious Warning”

Action: The party is deep in a dungeon and has discovered a catastrophic trap or a secret that will doom their allies back at the surface (e.g., “The cultists are poisoning the well!”). They cannot get back in time to warn them.
Roleplay:
1. Ritual: The wielder finds a safe corner and uses their 1/week Send Dream ability.
2. The Edit: They write a frantic, clear message on the scroll, targeting the party’s patron or an allied guard captain back in the city: “A nightmare of black-robed figures pouring a vial into the city well. The water turns black. Sickness. Death. The well! The well!”
3. The Aftermath: Miles away, the captain of the guard wakes up in a cold sweat. He dismisses it as a horrible nightmare… but the Edit Subconscious implant from the night before (“There is a threat you are not seeing“) makes him uneasy. He sends a patrol to the well “just in case,” where they discover and stop the cultists. The wielder has defended an entire city from miles away, using nothing but a quill and a dream.

Perception of Activation:

Sight

User’s Perspective: As you touch the quill’s tip to the 12-inch indigo scroll, the point flares with a soft, cool, silver light. As you write, the script flows onto the dark fabric not as ink, but as glowing, silvery, ethereal lines, like captured moonlight. The words are perfectly clear. The silvery-grey feather on the quill seems to darken, absorbing the ambient light around you, making your writing hand the center of a small pool of shadow.
Observer’s Perspective: They see the user holding a dark quill and a small, blank-looking dark cloth. As the user begins to write, glowing, silent script appears on the fabric. The feather on the quill is an unnerving, light-absorbing grey-black, and the quill’s tip glows with a faint, silvery light. The words on the scroll are visible to the observer if they are close enough to read them.
Positives: The glowing script is perfectly legible in complete darkness, allowing for secret use. The light-absorbing feather helps conceal the user’s hand and face in shadows.
Negatives: The act is overtly magical. Anyone who sees the glowing, self-illuminating script will know an enchanted item is being used. The glowing words can be read by anyone nearby, compromising the secret being written until it fades.

Sound

User’s Perspective: Absolute silence. The Silent Scribe passive is in full effect. The quill makes no scratching sound. The rustle of the fabric is muffled. It feels like you are writing in a soundless void.
Observer’s Perspective: Complete silence. Even if they are standing right next to the user, the act of writing is unnervingly quiet, with no scratch of quill on fabric.
Positives: The activation is completely silent, making it ideal for clandestine use, even if in the same room as a sleeping target or sentry.
Negatives: The unnatural silence can be a giveaway. A guard who is used to ambient noise might become suspicious when they hear nothing from the user’s direction.

Smell

User’s Perspective: As you write, you perceive a faint, dry, and cool scent, like ancient, dust-free parchment and a hint of ozone, or the smell of a clear, cold night sky. It is a “mental” smell, clean and sterile.
Observer’s Perspective: No smell is perceivable by an observer.
Positives: The scent is subtle and clean, which can help the user focus during the 1-minute or 10-minute ritual. It is not strong enough to be detected by others.
Negatives: None. The scent is entirely personal to the user.

Touch

User’s Perspective: The ebony quill is cool and perfectly smooth. The indigo fabric scroll is soft, like fine silk, but has an unnerving stillness to it, as if it has no temperature at all. As you write, you feel a faint, cool, “pulling” sensation, as if the quill is drawing the concept of the memory or dream out of your mind and onto the scroll.
Observer’s Perspective: If they were to touch the items, they would feel a high-quality quill and a very fine, soft piece of cloth.
Positives: The tactile feedback is precise, making the writing feel deliberate and important. The “pulling” sensation confirms the magic is working and connected to your mind.
Negatives: The “pulling” sensation can be mentally distracting or draining, especially during the 10-minute Erase Memory ritual, where it feels like a piece of your mind is being gently extracted.

Taste

User’s Perspective: A faint, dry, papery taste appears on the tongue, as if you had just licked a very old, very clean piece of paper.
Observer’s Perspective: No perception.
Positives: None. It is a minor sensory side effect.
Negatives: The taste is mildly unpleasant, though not debilitating.

Extra-sensory Perceptions

Magical Aura Perception (Mind’s Eye):
- User’s Perspective: To your Mind’s Eye, the quill is a void, a “black hole” of magical energy that actively absorbs light and mental energy. The scroll is a “blank slate” of potential, pulsing with a faint, indigo light (Divination). When you write, the quill (Illusion/Enchantment) “carves” silvery, glowing magical data onto the scroll, which holds it, validates it, and then transmits it.
- Observer’s Perspective: A magical observer would see the user wielding a tool of pure mental manipulation. They would see the quill “drain” ambient mental energy and the scroll light up as a focused Divination/Enchantment matrix, preparing to transmit a signal.
- Positives: You can clearly “feel” the magic working, confirming the connection and the ritual’s progress.
- Negatives: This is an extremely “loud” magical act on the psychic/astral plane. Any magical sentry, telepath, or spirit within range will be instantly alerted to a powerful act of mental manipulation.
Empathic/Mental Perception:
- User’s Perspective: This is the most intense perception.
  - Erase Memory: You feel a cold, precise “snipping” sensation in your mind as the memory is isolated, followed by a hollow, cold void where that memory used to be. It feels clean, surgical, and deeply unnerving.
  - Send Dream/Edit Subconscious: You feel your mind “connect” to the target, like a thread unspooling from your head. You can feel the resistance of their sleeping mind (the DC 14 save) as you “push” the new information (the dream or the edit) into it.
- Observer’s Perspective: An empathic observer would feel a wave of cold, sterile, “antiseptic” mental energy from the user. They would feel the user’s mind “reach out” and “touch” another mind with cold, deliberate intent.
- Positives: You have direct, one-way feedback. You know the memory is gone. You feel the connection to your target and can sense if your magic is resisted or accepted.
- Negatives: The feeling of the memory void is deeply unsettling and can cause momentary disorientation. The connection to a target is a risk; a powerful target (like a psychic or a dragon) might “feel” the connection and trace it back to you, even if they fail their save.

Ritual of the Subconscious Edit

This complex Tier 2 ritual details the arcane process of merging the conflicting magics of the “Enchanted Quill of Forgetting” and the “Dreamweaver Tapestry.” The goal is not a simple physical fusion, but to unravel both items and re-forge their essences into a new, symbiotic tool kit: “The Oneiric Scroll.”

Items Merged

1x Enchanted Quill of Forgetting (Tier 1)
1x Dreamweaver Tapestry (Tier 1)

Additional Materials Needed

1x Vial of Astral-Infused Ink: A rare ink base that serves as a liquid conduit for psionic and oneiromantic (dream) magic.
1x Aetheric Stabilizer Shard: A Tier 2 magical catalyst required to merge two conflicting magical signatures (Oblivion and Divination) without them annihilating one another.
1x Polished Ebony Quill Shaft (Masterwork): A new, perfectly balanced shaft to house the re-attuned feather.
1x Spool of Somnus Silk Thread: A fine, dark-blue thread steeped in the magic of sleep, used to bind the re-woven scroll.
1x Flask of Void Lacquer: An alchemical creation that seals magical energy and absorbs light, used to finish the quill.

Tools Required

Enchanter’s Table: Necessary for the final binding ritual.
Arcane Weaver’s Tools (Masterwork): A specialized, small-scale loom required to safely unravel and re-weave enchanted threads.
Alchemist’s Supplies: To create the Void Lacquer.
Masterwork Scribe’s Kit: For handling the feather and performing the delicate binding.

Skill Requirements

Advanced Arcana: To understand and safely navigate the paradoxical theories of memory erasure and dream-weaving.
Expert Weaving: To deconstruct the Dreamweaver Tapestry without destroying its magical threads and re-weave them into the new scroll.
Advanced Magic Infusion: To perform the final ritual and bind the two items’ magic together.
Intermediate Alchemy: To brew the Void Lacquer.

Crafting Steps

Tapestry Deconstruction: The crafter must first use the Arcane Weaver’s Tools to carefully deconstruct the Dreamweaver Tapestry. This process takes several hours, as they are not just unraveling cloth, but harvesting the specific Astral Silk and Moon-spun Threads that hold its dream magic. The mundane threads are discarded, leaving only a small bundle of potent, shimmering magical fibers.
Scroll Re-Weaving: Using the same arcane loom, the crafter weaves these harvested threads into a new, dense, 12-inch-square of indigo fabric—the blank scroll. The Somnus Silk Thread is used to bind the edges, creating a stable, passive magical matrix.
Quill Deconstruction & Re-birthing: The Amnesial Bird feather is carefully removed from the “Enchanted Quill of Forgetting.” The old shaft is discarded. The feather is then set into the new Polished Ebony Quill Shaft.
Sealing the Quill: Using the Alchemist’s Supplies, the crafter brews the Void Lacquer. This lacquer is meticulously applied to the ebony shaft, sealing the “oblivion” magic of the feather into its new housing and giving it the light-absorbing, silent quality.
The Binding Ritual: This is the most dangerous step. The newly crafted blank scroll and the re-born quill are placed on the Enchanter’s Table. The Aetheric Stabilizer Shard is placed in the center of the scroll.
The crafter dips the new quill into the Astral-Infused Ink and must, in a single, unbroken 10-minute ritual, write the complex runic equations of the “Subconscious Edit” onto the scroll. The ink and stabilizer shard will glow brightly.
As the final rune is drawn, the shard dissolves, its energy flaring, and the ink “burns” into the scroll’s magical matrix, permanently linking the quill’s oblivion magic to the scroll’s dream magic. The writing then fades, leaving the scroll blank, and the ritual is complete. The items must be stored together in their tube for 24 hours to stabilize.

Scroll That Writes on Sleeping-Soul
(This telling is known from the cracked tablets found at Uk-Lom, and the words are crooked, for the old tongue has no true map.)

In the time that was gray, before the Second Rising, there were two men. They were great, it is said. Great in power.

One was Alaric. He was the Weaver of Sleep-Cloths. (The word is “Dreamweaver,” but it means one who makes pictures for the head-in-sleep). He sat with a great loom. He pulled threads from the astral-wind, the threads of the moon. He wove cloths that, when you sleep near, you see truth. You see what is to come. You see what is lost. Alaric said, “The sleeping-soul must see all things. This is wisdom.” He was a man of seeing.

The other was Thaloryn. He was the Scribe of the Empty Page. He had the Forget-Feather. (The word is “Amnesial,” but it means the bird that is not-there, the bird of un-knowing). He did not weave. He wrote. He had a quill that, when he wrote a head-thought (a memory), the thought was… gone. It was erased. Snatched away. Thaloryn said, “The soul is a prison of pains. We must be free.” He was a man of un-seeing.

These two, Alaric and Thaloryn, were not friends. No. They were like sun and shadow. One made men know their deep pains. One made men not-know them. And the world, it was torn by this.

Then, it is said, a Great-Trouble came. (The tablet is broken here. Was it a war? A god’s anger? A king’s madness? The word is lost). The Trouble was so big, that seeing was not enough. And un-seeing was not enough.

And so, Alaric and Thaloryn met. They met in the fog-place, where things are not real and not-dream. Alaric, the Weaver, spoke. “Your quill makes only empty. An empty head is a weak head.” Thaloryn, the Scribe, spoke. “Your cloth makes only seeing. A head full of all-things is a mad head.”

For three nights, they spoke in the fog. And on the third night, they agreed. “We will make a new thing,” they said. “Not just for seeing. Not just for un-seeing. But for changing.”

Alaric, he took his great Sleep-Cloth. He did not take all. He pulled from it the most magic threads. The threads that smell like the moon. The threads that hum like a dream. He pulled them, one by one. Thaloryn, he took his Forget-Feather. He broke it from its old shaft. He held only the silver-gray feather that drinks the light.

They brought other things. A shaft of ebony-wood, black like the space between stars. Ink that was made of astral-light. A magic stone, the Aether-Shard, that holds two-things-that-fight and makes them one.

They did the ritual. Alaric, he wove the dream-threads into a small cloth, a page. A 12-inch square. Indigo-blue, like the sky-at-no-sun. Thaloryn, he fixed the Forget-Feather to the ebony-shaft. He sealed it with lacquer that is void. Then, they took the Aether-Shard. They put it on the blue cloth. Thaloryn, he dipped the new quill in the star-ink. He wrote on the shard. He wrote the word-that-joins. The shard flared! It became light! It became sound! And then it was gone. And the magic of the feather, the un-seeing, it flowed into the cloth. And the magic of the cloth, the dream-seeing, it flowed into the quill. It was done. The Oneiric Scroll, the Scroll That Writes on the Sleeping-Soul, was born.

And its power was a new power. A terrible power. Now, a man could do the first thing. He could write his pain on the indigo cloth. “I lost my wife.” He writes this. The silver words glow. And then… fwoosh. (The word is like a small wind). The words are gone. And the head-thought is gone. His wife? He does not know this word. His mind is empty of her. (The tablets say this returns. The head-thought comes back. But not soon. Maybe a day. Maybe a moon-cycle. It is a temporary-empty). This was Thaloryn’s power.

Now, a man could do the second thing. He could write on the cloth, “The king is a wolf.” He could push this writing. (The word is “cast,” like a net). He pushes it… into the sleeping-head of another man, far away. That man dreams. He dreams of a king with fur and teeth. This was Alaric’s power.

But now, they had the third thing. The new thing. The ritual of the Subconscious Edit. A man could wait until another is sleeping. He stands near (or far? The tablets are not clear. 100 feet, maybe?). He takes the quill. He writes on the cloth. He does not write a dream. He writes a thought. He writes: “The king is good.” He pushes this. The man who is sleeping… he does not dream. He does not see a vision. He just… sleeps. But when he wakes. He looks at the sun. He thinks. “The king… he is a good king.” The thought is not his thought. It is the quill’s-thought. It is the scroll’s-thought. It is a seed. A seed planted in his deep-mind. And this seed, it grows. It grows roots. It becomes his thought.

This, this was the power they made. The power to edit the soul. What of Alaric and Thaloryn? The fog-meeting ended. Did they go back to their lives? The tablets are very cracked here. The story ends in shadow. One telling says… they used the scroll on each other. Alaric, he saw Thaloryn’s pain, the pain that made him want to forget. Alaric wrote on the scroll: “You are forgiven.” He pushed this into Thaloryn’s sleeping-soul. And Thaloryn, he saw Alaric’s pride, the pride that made him need truth. Thaloryn wrote on the scroll: “Your truth is a beautiful lie.” He pushed this into Alaric’s sleeping-soul. It is said… they both were changed. They left their loom, and their desk. They walked into the world, no longer a Weaver, no longer a Scribe. Just… men. But the item, the Scroll That Writes on the Sleeping-Soul, it was left behind. Waiting. For a new hand. A spy’s hand. A healer’s hand. A king’s hand. A hand that wants to write on a page that is not its own.

The Moral of the Story: A man’s soul is not parchment. Do not dare to write upon it, lest you smudge the only words that make him who he is.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

The Amnesial Scroll and Quill

This is an occult artifact, appearing as a simple wooden tube containing a dark ebony quill with a silver-grey feather, and a 12-inch-square of rolled indigo fabric.

Skills: Grants a bonus die (+10%) to Sleight of Hand or Fast Talk rolls made to conceal the kit or lie about its purpose. Passive: Writing with the quill is supernaturally silent. Passive: If the investigator sleeps within 10 feet of the kit, they gain a bonus die (+10%) to Psychology or Occult rolls made to interpret their own dreams.

Active Abilities (Rituals):

Erase Memory (1/day): Requires 10 minutes of uninterrupted writing, 1 MP, and a 1/1d4 Sanity Point cost. The user writes a specific memory onto the scroll, which then fades. The memory is removed from the user’s mind. The Keeper decides when this memory returns, typically at a moment of high stress or as the result of a “Temporary Insanity” recovery, but not before at least 24 hours have passed.
Implant Suggestion (1/session): Requires 10 minutes, 2 MP, and a 1/1d3 Sanity Point cost. The user targets a sleeping person within 100 feet and writes a simple command (e.g., “Trust Kaelen”). The target must make a Hard POW roll. On a failure, the idea is implanted as a powerful, undeniable “gut feeling” when they wake.
Send Dream (1/week): Requires 1 minute, 1 MP, and a 0/1 Sanity Point cost. The user writes a scene onto the scroll to cast Send Dreams. The target (who must be known to the user) perceives the writing as a vivid dream during their next sleep and must make a POW x 5 roll to recognize it as unnatural.

Blades in the Dark

The Whisper-Quill and Dream-Vellum (Arcane Implement, 1 Load, Tier II)

A subtle and forbidden tool for Whispers and Spiders, this kit contains a silent quill and a small, blank sheet of indigo vellum that seems to shimmer.

Passive:

Grants +1d to Finesse or Prowl rolls to conceal the item.
When you perform a Downtime Action to Study or Indulge Vice (Weird), you may ask one extra question related to your dreams or subconscious.

Active Abilities (Rituals):

Erase Memory (1/day): This can be done as a Downtime Action or a 10-minute ritual on a score (costs 2 Stress). The user performs a ritual to write a memory onto the vellum. The memory vanishes. The GM creates a 4-segment clock labeled “Memory Returns.” The GM ticks this clock when dramatically appropriate (e.g., the user takes trauma, encounters a trigger). When the clock is full, the memory returns, likely inflicting Level 2 Harm (“Overwhelming Flashback”).
Implant Suggestion (1/session): This is a 10-minute ritual that can be performed during a score (costs 1 Stress). It targets a sleeping person within 100 feet. This is an Attune roll.
- Crit: The target believes the implanted idea is their own, brilliant discovery.
- Success (6): The target has a strong “gut feeling” as intended.
- Mixed (4/5): The target has the “gut feeling,” but it’s muddled with fear or suspicion, making them erratic.
- Failure (1-3): The target’s mind rejects the intrusion, and they awaken immediately, aware of a hostile magical presence.
Send Dream (1/week): This is a Downtime Action (Attune roll) that costs 0 Stress. You send a vivid, symbolic dream to a target you know.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

The Oneiric Quill and Scroll Wondrous Item, Rare (requires attunement by a creature proficient in Arcana or Insight)

This kit consists of a light-absorbing ebony quill and a 12-inch-square of indigo silk, stored in a simple wooden tube.

Passive:

Insightful Dreams: While attuned, if you sleep with this kit within 10 feet of you, you have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made to interpret your dreams.
Silent Scribe: Writing with the quill makes no sound.
Deceptive Nature: You gain a +1 bonus to Charisma (Deception) and Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks made to lie about or conceal the kit.

Active Abilities:

Send Dream (1/week): You can spend 1 minute writing on the scroll to cast the Dream spell (save DC 14). The content of your writing becomes the content of the dream. Once used, this property cannot be used again for 7 days.
Erase Memory (1/day): You can perform a 10-minute ritual to write a single, specific memory you possess (no longer than 1 hour of time) onto the scroll. The writing fades, and the memory vanishes from your mind. The memory returns at a random time determined by the DM (but not before your next long rest). The DM secretly rolls 1d30 to determine how many days will pass before the memory returns.
Edit Subconscious (1/session): As a 10-minute ritual, you can target a sleeping creature you can see within 100 feet. You write a simple, declarative statement (e.g., “Trust Sister Kaelen”) on the scroll, which then fades. The target must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the statement is implanted in their subconscious, which they perceive as a strong, personal “gut feeling” or intuition upon waking. Most DMs will treat “1/session” as “1/short rest.”

Knave (2nd Edition)

Quill of Oblivion & Dream-Vellum Tool (1 Slot, requires 1 hand to use)

A kit containing a silent, dark feather quill and a small, rolled indigo cloth.

Passive:

You have Advantage on WIS checks to interpret your dreams if you sleep with this kit nearby.
The quill makes no sound when writing.
You have Advantage on CHA checks to deceive others about the kit and DEX checks to hide it.

Active Abilities:

Send Dream (1/week): Once per week, you can spend 1 minute writing on the vellum to send a dream (images and sounds) to one person you know. They receive it when they next sleep.
Erase Memory (1/day): Once per day, you can spend 10 minutes writing one of your own memories onto the vellum. The memory is erased. The GM decides when it returns (sometime after the next day, but before a month passes).
Implant Thought (1/session): Once per session, you can spend 10 minutes writing a simple idea (max 10 words). Target a sleeping creature within 100 feet. They must make a WIS save (DC 14). On a failure, they wake up believing the idea is their own “gut feeling.”

Fate (Core / Condensed)

The Scroll of Subconscious Edits

This item is a powerful Extra that grants aspects and special stunts.

Aspects:

Woven from Dreams and Oblivion
A Tool for Mental Forgery
Silent as a Forgotten Thought

Stunts:

Insightful Dreams (Passive): When you Create an Advantage by consulting your dreams, you gain an additional free invoke on a success.
Deceptive Nature (Passive): You gain a +2 bonus to all Deceive and Stealth rolls made to lie about, conceal, or use the kit undetected.
Erase Memory (1/day): Once per session, you can spend 10 minutes writing a memory onto the scroll. The memory is removed, and you gain the temporary aspect Crucial Memory Erased. The GM holds a free invoke on this aspect and can remove it at any time (as per the item’s rules), forcing the memory to return, likely as a compel.
Edit Subconscious (1/session): Once per session, you can perform a 10-minute ritual targeting a sleeping creature (within the same zone). Roll Will to Create an Advantage opposed by the target’s Will. On a success, you place a new “gut feeling” aspect on the target (e.g., Deeply Suspicious of the Vizier) with two (2) free invokes held by you.
Send Dream (1/week): Once per scenario (or week), you can spend 1 minute writing on the scroll to send a dream to a target you know. This is a Will roll to Create an Advantage against a difficulty based on the target’s Will and distance. On a success, you place a situation aspect (e.g., Plagued by Nightmares) on the target with one free invoke.

Numenera & Cypher System

The Oneiric Scribe’s Kit

Level: 5 Form: An ebony quill with a light-absorbing feather and a 12-inch-square of indigo fabric, all stored in a wooden tube. Effect (Passive):

Insightful Dreams: Tasks related to interpreting your own dreams are eased.
Deceptive Nature: Tasks related to using the kit silently or concealing it are eased.

Effect (Active):

Send Dream (1/week): Once every seven days, the user can spend one minute writing on the scroll to send a dream to a known target (long range). This functions as an Intellect-based task (Level 5). On success, the dream is implanted.
Erase Memory (1/day): Once every 28 hours, the user can spend 10 minutes writing one of their own memories. The memory is suppressed. The GM determines when it returns (randomly, between 1 day and 1 month).
Edit Subconscious (1/session): Once every two to three hours, the user can spend 10 minutes targeting a sleeping creature (short range). The target must make an Intellect Defense roll (Level 5). On failure, the user’s implanted “gut feeling” takes hold.

Depletion: 1-2 in 1d20 (This roll is made each time an active ability is used).

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

The Oneiric Scroll (Level 6) RARE, MAGICAL, DIVINATION, ENCHANTMENT, MENTAL Price 230 gp Usage Held in 1 hand (kit); Bulk L

This kit consists of an ebony quill with a silent, silvery feather and a 12-inch-square of indigo silk.

Passive:

You gain a +1 item bonus to Occultism or Society checks to interpret dreams.
You gain a +1 item bonus to Deception and Thievery checks to conceal the kit or lie about its function. Writing with the quill is supernaturally silent.

Activate [1 minute] (Concentrate, Divination, Magical); Frequency 1/week; Effect You spend 1 minute writing on the scroll to cast a 3rd-level Dream Message. The target does not need to be willing. The save DC for the target to disbelieve the dream is DC 20.

Activate [10 minutes] (Concentrate, Enchantment, Magical); Frequency 1/day; Effect You write one of your own memories onto the scroll, which then fades. The memory vanishes from your mind. The GM secretly determines when it returns (sometime between 1 day and 1 month).

Activate [10 minutes] (Concentrate, Enchantment, Magical, Mental); Frequency 1/day; Target 1 sleeping creature within 100 feet; Effect You implant a simple idea. The target must attempt a DC 20 Will save.

Success The target is unaffected.
Failure The target treats the implanted idea as its own strong “gut feeling” or intuition upon waking.
Critical Failure As failure, and the target is Stupefied 1 for 1 hour, obsessed with the new thought.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

The Scribe’s Subconscious Kit

Description: A rare kit containing a silent quill and a small, magical scroll. Weight: 1; Cost: $20,000+ Notes: Requires Occult d6+ or Psionics d6+.

Passive Abilities:

Insightful Dreams: +1 bonus to Common Knowledge or Occult rolls to interpret dreams.
Deceptive Nature: +1 bonus to Stealth and Persuasion rolls related to concealing or lying about the kit. Writing with the quill is silent.

Active Abilities (No Power Point cost):

Send Dream (1/week): Requires 1 minute. This allows the use of the Dream power. This is an Occult roll opposed by the target’s Spirit.
Erase Memory (1/day): Requires 10 minutes. The user automatically suppresses one memory. The GM determines when it returns. When it does, the user is automatically Distracted for 1 hour as the memory floods back.
Edit Subconscious (1/session): Requires 10 minutes. The user targets a sleeping creature within 100 feet (20″). This is an opposed Occult roll vs. the target’s Spirit.
- Success: The target is implanted with the “gut feeling” (e.g., they gain a new, temporary Minor Hindrance like Suspicious (Specific Target) or Loyal (Specific Target)).
- Raise: The new Hindrance is Major.
- The Hindrance lasts until the GM determines the magical suggestion has faded.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

The Oneiric Scribe (Focus Kit)

This kit contains a silent ebony quill (Weapon Focus, Rating 2) and a 12-inch-square of indigo-colored, astrally-resonant silk. It is a subtle and highly illegal tool for mental infiltration.

Rating: 2 Availability: 16R Cost: 35,000¥

Passive Abilities:

Insightful Dreams: The attuned user gains a +1 dice pool bonus to Arcana or Psychology Tests made to interpret dreams.
Silent Scribe: Writing with the quill is supernaturally silent.
Deceptive Nature: The user gains a +1 dice pool bonus to Con or Stealth Tests made to lie about or conceal the kit.

Active Abilities (Rituals):

Send Dream (1/week): This is a 1-minute ritual (Sorcery + Magic [Mental]). On a success (Threshold 3), the user can send a vivid dream (as per the Dream spell) to a known target anywhere on the same plane.
Erase Memory (1/day): This is a 10-minute ritual (Magic + Logic [Mental]). The user must achieve 3 net hits. On success, they suppress a single, specific memory. The GM secretly determines when this memory returns (between 1 day and 1 month), at which point the user must resist 3S Stun damage from the psychic shock.
Edit Subconscious (1/session): This is a 10-minute ritual (Sorcery + Magic [Mental]) targeting a sleeping creature within 30 meters (100ft). This is an Opposed Test against the target’s Willpower + Logic. If the user wins, they implant a single “gut feeling,” which the target treats as their own intuition upon waking.

Starfinder (1st Edition)

The Subconscious Scribe’s Kit (Level 6 Hybrid Item)

Price: 4,500 credits Slot: Held (in tube); Bulk: L

This kit consists of a sleek ebony quill and a 12-inch-square of shimmering indigo silk. It blends psionic-like magic with subtle enchantment.

Passive Abilities:

Insightful Dreams: If you sleep with this kit within 10 feet, you gain a +2 insight bonus to Mysticism or Sense Motive checks made to interpret your dreams.
Silent Scribe: Writing with the quill makes no sound.
Deceptive Nature: You gain a +2 insight bonus to Bluff and Sleight of Hand checks related to the kit.

Active Abilities (Spell-Like):

Send Dream (1/week): As a 1-minute ritual, you can use this kit to cast Dream Message (as the 2nd-level Mystic spell). The save DC is 14.
Erase Memory (1/day): As a 10-minute ritual, you can write one of your own memories onto the scroll. The memory vanishes. The GM secretly determines its return (rolling 1d30 for the number of days).
Edit Subconscious (1/session): As a 10-minute ritual, you can target a sleeping creature within 100 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or have a strong “gut feeling” (e.g., “The king is a fraud”) implanted in their subconscious. This can be used once per short rest.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

The Zhodani ‘Dream-Scribe’ (TL-14 Psionic Artifact)

This rare, prohibited artifact is a small kit containing a psycho-receptive quill and a blank, psionically-resonant indigo cloth. It is a tool for mental espionage.

Mass: 0.5 kg Cost: Cr 175,000 (Black Market)

Passive Abilities:

Dream Analysis: Gain DM+1 to Psychology checks to interpret dreams after sleeping near the kit.
Subtle Use: Gain DM+1 to Deception or Stealth checks to conceal the kit. Writing is silent.

Active Abilities (Psionic):

Send Dream (1/week): Requires 1 minute and an Average (8+) Psionics (Telepathy) check. Sends a dream to a known target (planetary range).
Erase Memory (1/day): Requires 10 minutes and a Difficult (10+) INT or Psionics (Telepathy) check. The user suppresses one memory. The GM determines its return (1d6+1 weeks).
Implant Suggestion (1/session): Requires 10 minutes and targets a sleeping creature within 30m. This is an opposed check: the user’s Psionics (Telepathy) vs. the target’s Willpower or Psionics (Telepathy). On success, a “gut feeling” is implanted.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

The Scribe’s Kit of Ulgu

This rare magical kit contains a quill made from a Shadow-bird’s feather and a small scroll of indigo silk that smells of the night. It is a tool for spies and manipulators.

Enc: 1 (in tube) Availability: Rare, Magical, Often Illegal Cost: 175 GC

Passive Abilities:

Dream-Visions: Gain a +10 bonus to Intuition Tests to interpret dreams after sleeping near the kit.
Deceptive Nature: Gain a +10 bonus to Sleight of Hand (Conceal) and Charm (Deceive) Tests related to the kit. Writing with the quill is supernaturally silent.

Active Abilities (Magic):

Send Dream (1/week): Requires 1 minute and a Challenging (+0) Channeling (Ulgu) Test. Sends a dream (as the Sleep spell, but delivering a vision instead of fatigue) to a known target.
Erase Memory (1/day): Requires 10 minutes and a Challenging (+0) Willpower Test. The user suppresses one memory. The GM determines its return (1d30 days), at which point the user must pass an Average (+20) Cool Test or gain 1 Stunned Condition.
Implant Suggestion (1/session): Requires 10 minutes and targets a sleeping creature within 20 yards. This is an Opposed Willpower Test. If the user wins, the target gains a new, temporary Psychological Trait (e.g., Suspicion (Specific Person) or Loyalty (Specific Person)) defined by the user.